The 2OT: way, WAY too early predictions for the 2018 football season

The thought.

It's mid-December and the Red Raiders are well in the middle of preparations for the Birmingham Bowl on Festivas. (Yes, the made up holiday from Seinfeld actually does fall on December 23rd). It would be ridiculous to talk about 2018 football right? Well, call me ridiculous, because here I go.

What the Red Raiders will look like.

The Red Raiders return what might be the most experienced team since 2012. Offensively, Tech returns all five starters on the offensive line as well as both Desmond Nisby and Tre King at the running back position. The wide receivers take a hit with the departures of Dylan Cantrell and Cameron Batson, but should still be as stacked as ever with Keke Coutee (I really don’t think he’ll declare for the draft, he’s ranked No. 27 among receivers in the 2019 class) and a more experienced T.J. Vasher leading the pack.

The biggest question mark will be who starts at quarterback. The good news is that Tech should have a ton of depth at the quarterback position between McLane Carter and Jett Duffey, as well as Alen Bowman. Over the offseason, Kingsbury said to expect an all-out quarterback battle to determine who gets the nod at NRG stadium in September.

Defensively, the Red Raiders should pick up right where they left off with nearly all of the 806D returning, including star linebackers Dakota Allen and Jordyn Brooks. With the added depth from Gibbs third recruiting class, this defense could become one of the best in the Big 12.

The take

It should be said that I am physically incapable of picking against Tech in a single matchup. It's not that I’m a homer (I am) I just believe that Tech has the talent and ability to win against any team in the country no matter how unlikely it may be. So to make it more honest, I'll break up the season into four sections and predict how many games in each section Tech will win:

Section 1: Ole Miss, Lamar, Houston.

Texas Tech will win out the non-conference schedule as they did in 2017. Ole Miss will be decimated by the NCAA penalties from this season. Lamar should be an easy win and Houston at home is definitely winnable.

Section 2: @ Oklahoma State, West Virginia, @ TCU.

Both OSU and TCU will be breaking in a new quarterback while Will Grier is already being talked about as a 2018 Heisman hopeful. I’d say the Tech defense takes advantage of the inexperienced quarterbacks as well as the home field advantage against the Mountaineers and wins two out of the three.

Section 3: Kansas, @ Iowa State, Oklahoma.

Kansas should be better next season but still bad. Iowa State has a two-game winning streak against the Red Raiders, but lose half of their roster to graduation. Oklahoma, like TCU and Oklahoma State, will be breaking in another new quarterback. I’ll bet Tech wins two out of three again.

Section 4: Texas, @ Kansas State, Baylor

The Red Raiders will get Tom Herman in Lubbock for his first time on Senior Day. Kansas State is beatable and Baylor likely won’t be a threat after a 1-11 season. Tech should win two again, but could very well win all three.

Final Prediction: 9-3